5 Ways to Stay Sane and Meditate In Your Car
Life is stressful. Commuting is stressful. Traffic… is stressful. Get the picture we’re painting? We don’t normally envision our morning commutes as being a time of serenity and calm… but they CAN be! The fact is, the inside your car is safe, decently quiet, and a comfortable place you spend a great deal of time in every week. So why not make the best of it? Studies show that adding just a few minutes of meditation into your life every day can improve focus, make us more calm and, frankly, happier people in general.
In order to figure out how to transform our morning commute from a hellish hour behind the wheel to a pretty peaceful period, we’ve gone straight to LA-based Kundalini yoga and meditation teacher, Danielle Mercurio.
Tip 1 – Give em’ the finger!
No. Not THAT finger! Instead, you can channel peace with a mantra-based mediation that involves your fingers. “When you need to calm your nerves,” Mercurio says, “work a mantra that has a mudra (hand gesture) with it.” Mercurio suggests simply saying to yourself “peace begins with me” at relaxed pace. While you do that, try the following mudra with ONE hand, keeping the other on the wheel. Here are a few mudras to choose from:
Peace – thumb and forefinger touch
Begins – thumb and middle finger touch
With – thumb and ring finger touch
Me – thumb and pinky touch
You can say your mantra as quiet or as loud as you want!
2) Soundtrack, baby!
You know how you sometimes reach for the Beyonce when getting amped for a Saturday girls night out? The same idea works for calming down in the car. “Have a musical playlist primed and ready to go in the car for the minute you feel stress. By listening to these tunes,” explains Mercurio, “it will allow you to be mindful of your surroundings and in your optimal mood.”
If part of managing a stressful situation is to keep it from happening in the beginning, remember that a calming playlist can help you walk into a situation in the correct mood to be pro-active about keeping stress at bay before it even begins!
3) Or…. Enjoy the silence.
Turn off the ringer on your phone. Turn off the radio. Pay attention to the sounds around you. The air. The whirring of your engine. And while you do that, check in with your body. Is any portion of you feeling tight? You shoulder or face? Contract and release different portions of your body to help them relax and fall into place. Use the silence to help center your mind and body while you have the dedicated time.
4) Practice compassion.
Run with us here… everyone on the road is probably living a life that is just as busy and fast as yours. “While on the road, everyone is coming from different places, literally and figuratively,” quotes Mercurio. “It’s easy to get upset when someone cuts you off, however instead of lashing out at a complete stranger, send them compassion instead… realize that this is an opportunity to extend love instead.” One way to do this? Acknowledge. Breathe. And release. Save the competitive edge for the office. Don’t speed, dart, weave, or drive aggressively which, in turn, will bump up your personal level of aggression.
5) Breathe deeply when you’re stopped.
At a stoplight? Take this chance to breathe deeply. In and out. In and out. Keep your eyes open but breathe in and out, counting the seconds for each motion. This will center you while keeping you alert.
Do you have a mindful commute? Have you modified meditations to make high-traffic transit a bit less stressful? If so, chime in below and tell us what’s worked for you!
